Clean Water Act

Let's Talk New Mexico 7/11 8a: The Trump Administration has proposed a revision to the Clean Water Act that would exclude many of New Mexico’s ephemeral waterways from protection. Environmental advocates say that this would have a harmful impact on the state’s watersheds, but critics say the move would undo government overreach under the Obama Administration.

How would this impact your area of the state? Do you work in mining or agriculture? How your operations be affected? Are you concerned about water pollution? Email LetsTalk@KUNM.org, tweet using the hashtag #LetsTalkNM or call in live.

Should Los Alamos National Labs and Los Alamos County be held to the Clean Water Act standards for stormwater runoff that ends up in the Rio Grande? That’s the question the Environmental Protection Agency is weighing. A public comment period on the matter will begin soon.

Albuquerque’s wastewater treatment plant spilled nearly 6 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Rio Grande last Friday. Public Health New Mexico’s Ed Williams reports there was an equipment failure at one of the plant’s pumping facilities.

Officials with the Southside Wastewater Reclamation Plant say there was a spike in power during last week’s heavy snowstorm. That power spike disabled a pump station.

Plant Operations Manager Charles Leder says backup systems should have protected the facility from power fluctuations.

Editor's Note: After we published this story, a spokesperson for Kirtland Air Force Base wrote with a series of objections to the story. Kirtland did not allege any factual inaccuracy in our story but we did make a change to reflect that Kirtland's lead discharges into the Rio Grande watershed are not in violation of environmental laws. You can read all of their objections and our responses here.